| Paul Cook Interview 13:10 - Jan 5 with 7337 views | Martus |
Completely agree with his comments.
First off I should say I was and still am a Paul Cook fan. But, when Michael O'Leary had his first interview with the club - he said Paul Cook was their choice and they were kept in the loop when the managers were being interviewed. So he was the new ownership's team and Michael O'Leary's man too.
The big difference seems to be Mark Ashton - which is funny as he kept talking about giving the team time at the start of the season - and to have 19 new signings creating a completely new starting 11 - time was essential. I could see things starting to gel in October and admittedly they also fell apart after shortly after. But to give a manager the resources and backing to create a whole new squad under his image - and then to offload him with less than half a season gone - seems ludicrous. As PC said - if he was told he needed to be near or in the playoffs at least by November - then the job wasn't right for him. That overhaul needed time to pay off.
It sounds like the team Mark Ashton employed to work with the team didn't match the ethos of Paul Cook - and that is a great shame. Because whilst I am happy there is a constant team that will be there to continue their job and create stability - Mark Ashton can move on just as quickly as previously seen and take that team with him to a new club. So that also doesn't sit right with me - Paul Cook was the manager and should be able to run how that team works with his squad.
I feel for him - and I think it shows how much the job of manager/coach has changed in recent years. I hope he gets a job again soon and does well. And i hope PC was wrong an McKenna can make this squad gel in time for a playoff push. |  |
| "Bobby conquered Europe!!! And we won the FA cuuuuup!" |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:15 - Jan 5 with 1209 views | Martus |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:08 - Jan 5 by PhilTWTD |
They definitely weren't! That doesn't say that they were involved in the discussions around his appointment. They were informed by Marcus he was going to appoint PC rather than having any involvement in the process. |
Really?!
But O'Leary says PC was " number one on our list" and that they were in talks for over 14 months about purchasing the club.
You're clearly more in the know about this than i am - but surely they had to at least be involved in those discussions or be part of the conversation? Especially as the sale happened so quickly after the appointment. | |
| "Bobby conquered Europe!!! And we won the FA cuuuuup!" |
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| Says he should have been given more time... on 16:17 - Jan 5 with 1203 views | jayessess |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 16:09 - Jan 5 by Radlett_blue |
Fair enough - changing the manager, the coaching staff, the squad & the style of football every year is a recipe for disaster. Cook didn't appear to have worked well with some of the new club staff, who presumably are to remain here as a constant even if McKenna also proves to be a failure. A football club needs a certain amount of continuity if it is to perform well; let's hope Ashton & the team he has recruited are the right people. |
We've got 11 first teamers whose loans/contracts end in the Summer, so suspect the squad is going to keep evolving... |  |
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| Says he should have been given more time... on 16:17 - Jan 5 with 1198 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 16:14 - Jan 5 by ArnieM |
And if Ashton recruits members of staff but doesn’t even discuss it with his manager ( when these new staff will have an input to the squad), surely that undermines the manager ?
Or is this how modern infrastructures work in football now? |
That is exactly how they work. A manager or head coach and his immediate staff are completely disposable and the structure elsewhere does not change. |  | | |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:21 - Jan 5 with 1192 views | PhilTWTD |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:15 - Jan 5 by Martus |
Really?!
But O'Leary says PC was " number one on our list" and that they were in talks for over 14 months about purchasing the club.
You're clearly more in the know about this than i am - but surely they had to at least be involved in those discussions or be part of the conversation? Especially as the sale happened so quickly after the appointment. |
No, Marcus hadn't decided to sell the club at that stage, indeed he only really made the decision a day or so before the takeover was completed, so he made the change, interviewed PC etc. PC had no idea the takeover was anything more than speculation. |  | | |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:27 - Jan 5 with 1156 views | ArnieM |
Well following Paul Cooks interview , I’m even more convinced now that Mark Ashton is calling ALL the shots at this Club. That I’m itself may not he a problem. Perhaps it is the “ modern way” of football now, I don’t know. But the way Cook was dispensed with makes me feel uneasy given the amount of time he was given ( I don’t care what people say, he had no time at all to build something here).
So, is Mark Ashton the messiah or a despot? He clearly has some very good attributes, but I can’t help but feel there is an undercurrent that sounds like my way of the highway , whoever you are !
Time will tell but I suspect if MA ever feels his job is in jeopardy he’ll not hesitate to pull the trigger on those below him in this new infrastructure. |  |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:33 - Jan 5 with 1147 views | Martus |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:21 - Jan 5 by PhilTWTD |
No, Marcus hadn't decided to sell the club at that stage, indeed he only really made the decision a day or so before the takeover was completed, so he made the change, interviewed PC etc. PC had no idea the takeover was anything more than speculation. |
Wow - that sounds like a right mess.
Why then did Michael O'Leary say PC was their choice then do you think? I got the quote from his interview with the EADT - was that just to put PC at ease? | |
| "Bobby conquered Europe!!! And we won the FA cuuuuup!" |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:37 - Jan 5 with 1140 views | chicoazul |
Remember when I told you all Rolls tells the first team manager who he can pick? |  |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:38 - Jan 5 with 1138 views | chicoazul |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:27 - Jan 5 by ArnieM |
Well following Paul Cooks interview , I’m even more convinced now that Mark Ashton is calling ALL the shots at this Club. That I’m itself may not he a problem. Perhaps it is the “ modern way” of football now, I don’t know. But the way Cook was dispensed with makes me feel uneasy given the amount of time he was given ( I don’t care what people say, he had no time at all to build something here).
So, is Mark Ashton the messiah or a despot? He clearly has some very good attributes, but I can’t help but feel there is an undercurrent that sounds like my way of the highway , whoever you are !
Time will tell but I suspect if MA ever feels his job is in jeopardy he’ll not hesitate to pull the trigger on those below him in this new infrastructure. |
Of course he calls all the shots. He’s literally the CEO. | |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:39 - Jan 5 with 1141 views | PhilTWTD |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:33 - Jan 5 by Martus |
Wow - that sounds like a right mess.
Why then did Michael O'Leary say PC was their choice then do you think? I got the quote from his interview with the EADT - was that just to put PC at ease? |
That was actually a press conference rather than an interview. I would say you're right. With Cook in place what else were they going to say? And he would certainly have been well up anyone's list of potential League One managers. | | | |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:43 - Jan 5 with 1126 views | jayessess |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:37 - Jan 5 by chicoazul |
Remember when I told you all Rolls tells the first team manager who he can pick? |
Do we actually want a manager who overrules the sports science/physio people when they say players shouldn't play? | |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:45 - Jan 5 with 1124 views | Martus |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:37 - Jan 5 by chicoazul |
Remember when I told you all Rolls tells the first team manager who he can pick? |
Wasn't that rumored to be the reason PC and MA fell out?
I can imagine PC would be irked if he did'nt have control - especially as he himself valued fitness and pressing at his other clubs. So didn't exactly need Rolls to do that for him? | |
| "Bobby conquered Europe!!! And we won the FA cuuuuup!" |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:46 - Jan 5 with 1121 views | chicoazul |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:43 - Jan 5 by jayessess |
Do we actually want a manager who overrules the sports science/physio people when they say players shouldn't play? |
That’s fine if those are the terms set when you join. | |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:48 - Jan 5 with 1117 views | Martus |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:43 - Jan 5 by jayessess |
Do we actually want a manager who overrules the sports science/physio people when they say players shouldn't play? |
I agree that coaches are more desirable and a Director of football controls the rest. And that is changing and we are setting up to be like that.
But i'm still unsure of Mark Ashton - i know football is cutthroat. But he can up and leave and take a lot of staff with him when he feels like it. Don't feel we will get a lot of loyalty from him.
We don't want to rely on him too much | |
| "Bobby conquered Europe!!! And we won the FA cuuuuup!" |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:49 - Jan 5 with 1109 views | jayessess |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:46 - Jan 5 by chicoazul |
That’s fine if those are the terms set when you join. |
said before, if he didn't fit the intended setup we absolutely should've parted ways with Cook in the Summer. I suspect if Cook hadn't had so much success deflecting blame onto the players in the Spring we would've done. | |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:53 - Jan 5 with 1097 views | chicoazul |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:49 - Jan 5 by jayessess |
said before, if he didn't fit the intended setup we absolutely should've parted ways with Cook in the Summer. I suspect if Cook hadn't had so much success deflecting blame onto the players in the Spring we would've done. |
Cook pretty much says that in the interview. He should have gone in the summer when it became clear his remit was going to radically change. Every new owner in football always wants to appoint their own manager. | |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 16:56 - Jan 5 with 1091 views | Martus |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:49 - Jan 5 by jayessess |
said before, if he didn't fit the intended setup we absolutely should've parted ways with Cook in the Summer. I suspect if Cook hadn't had so much success deflecting blame onto the players in the Spring we would've done. |
And to add to all of that - we allowed the same man to revamp our whole squad.
Whether you are Cook in or out - that doesn't make sense. Especially as I've just learnt PC wasn't their man. | |
| "Bobby conquered Europe!!! And we won the FA cuuuuup!" |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 17:01 - Jan 5 with 1069 views | ArnieM |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:56 - Jan 5 by Martus |
And to add to all of that - we allowed the same man to revamp our whole squad.
Whether you are Cook in or out - that doesn't make sense. Especially as I've just learnt PC wasn't their man. |
So O’Leary was lying then ? | |
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| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:07 - Jan 5 with 1059 views | Keaneish |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 14:07 - Jan 5 by Parsley |
There's a middle ground though, no one was expecting Paul Cook to have us top of the table by November but 11th in League 1, 7 points off the playoffs and no consistent signs of improvement wasn't good enough. If they felt like he had a chance of turning it around this season and challenged for the playoffs then I think he would have been given time but ultimately they decided it was best to change now rather than let the season drag on until it was too late. |
You say there were no consistent signs of improvement and i'll be the first to admit, performances were up and down but Cook's record in the league after the Bolton game was a 50% win percentage.
If you're investing in a manager and trusting him with a brand new squad and openly circulating to people to be patient and that the side needs time, sacking him with that win percentage after the side has "gelled" doesn't add up.
You'd assume with such a good investment the aim was promotion this year. To sack him in November, whilst also still in the FA Cup to bring in an interim and then a rookie is bad business logic in my view. |  |
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| Paul Cook Interview on 17:11 - Jan 5 with 1040 views | jayessess |
| Paul Cook Interview on 16:56 - Jan 5 by Martus |
And to add to all of that - we allowed the same man to revamp our whole squad.
Whether you are Cook in or out - that doesn't make sense. Especially as I've just learnt PC wasn't their man. |
Inertia though, isn't it?
Can't sack a manager after 6 weeks, especially when he's very popular.
He's not going to resign from the best paid job of his career.
So you have to play it out and be seen to be doing your best to make it work. | |
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| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:18 - Jan 5 with 1033 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:07 - Jan 5 by Keaneish |
You say there were no consistent signs of improvement and i'll be the first to admit, performances were up and down but Cook's record in the league after the Bolton game was a 50% win percentage.
If you're investing in a manager and trusting him with a brand new squad and openly circulating to people to be patient and that the side needs time, sacking him with that win percentage after the side has "gelled" doesn't add up.
You'd assume with such a good investment the aim was promotion this year. To sack him in November, whilst also still in the FA Cup to bring in an interim and then a rookie is bad business logic in my view. |
He won 2 games in 9 post Wycombe and 4 of those games were against teams in the bottom 6 of L2, one against an U21's side. | | | |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:18 - Jan 5 with 1034 views | MaySixth |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 13:52 - Jan 5 by Martus |
If your CEO says to the press you have time - then I would like to trust his word. But that didn't happen.
19 new players. A whole new starting 11. To expect them to gel - with injuries and the amount of games to take in to account as well - by November is also foolish. |
O'Leary and Ashton both said that we wouldn't panic at the first sign of adversity.
To me, when I heard Cook had gone, I thought there must have been a huge dust-up somewhere as it was against what we were consistently being told.
Now the dust has settled, I just don't think the structure was right for Cook and Rolls and has team had more clout than we all thought.
It will be intriguing to see how McKenna gets on but I definitely now don't believe everything that O'Leary and Ashton will tell us. |  |
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| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:24 - Jan 5 with 1022 views | gtsb1966 |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:07 - Jan 5 by Keaneish |
You say there were no consistent signs of improvement and i'll be the first to admit, performances were up and down but Cook's record in the league after the Bolton game was a 50% win percentage.
If you're investing in a manager and trusting him with a brand new squad and openly circulating to people to be patient and that the side needs time, sacking him with that win percentage after the side has "gelled" doesn't add up.
You'd assume with such a good investment the aim was promotion this year. To sack him in November, whilst also still in the FA Cup to bring in an interim and then a rookie is bad business logic in my view. |
It was ally fault.... apparently  |  | | |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:52 - Jan 5 with 985 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:07 - Jan 5 by Keaneish |
You say there were no consistent signs of improvement and i'll be the first to admit, performances were up and down but Cook's record in the league after the Bolton game was a 50% win percentage.
If you're investing in a manager and trusting him with a brand new squad and openly circulating to people to be patient and that the side needs time, sacking him with that win percentage after the side has "gelled" doesn't add up.
You'd assume with such a good investment the aim was promotion this year. To sack him in November, whilst also still in the FA Cup to bring in an interim and then a rookie is bad business logic in my view. |
That consistent improvement yielded 2 wins in his last 6 league games though, along with 3 defeats and a draw. In all competitions it was 2 wins in his last 9
This so called consistent improvement is basically a brief run of competency from mid-Sept to Nov, during which time 4 of our 6 wins came against teams in the bottom third of the table. But hooray for Cookie, how could anyone possibly sack the poor little lamb? [Post edited 5 Jan 2022 17:54]
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| Says he should have been given more time... on 18:02 - Jan 5 with 966 views | gazzer1999 |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 13:29 - Jan 5 by Marshalls_Mullet |
...but regrets not leaving in the summer?! |
So do I. |  | | |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 19:27 - Jan 5 with 918 views | Keaneish |
| Says he should have been given more time... on 17:52 - Jan 5 by C_HealyIsAPleasure |
That consistent improvement yielded 2 wins in his last 6 league games though, along with 3 defeats and a draw. In all competitions it was 2 wins in his last 9
This so called consistent improvement is basically a brief run of competency from mid-Sept to Nov, during which time 4 of our 6 wins came against teams in the bottom third of the table. But hooray for Cookie, how could anyone possibly sack the poor little lamb? [Post edited 5 Jan 2022 17:54]
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Irrespective, the win % in the league was up to 50% which, if maintained would have seen us in the play-offs. I’d rather be in the play-offs than not, wouldn’t you? All we’ve done is hamper the chance of going up this year and given our new manager a major uphill task. All seems a bit amateur to me. | |
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